Butt-joint nestable culvert.



J. H. DEAN.

BUTTJOINT NESTABLE CULVERT.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 30. 1913 Patented Aug 28, 1917.

JOHN H. DEAN, OF BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA.

BUTT-JOINT NESTABLE CULVERT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 28, 1917.

Application filed October 30, 1913. Serial No. 798,263.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN H. DEAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Birmingham, in the county of Jefferson and State of Alabama, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Butt-Joint Nestable Culverts, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to means for fastening together and maintaining in abutting relation the longitudinal edges of my improved butt-joint metal culvert, said means comprising keys or clips and their cooperating key-receiving sockets or passageways, which sockets or passageways are formed upon the culvert along the longitudinal edges thereof.

The principal object of the present invention resides in an improved method of forming the key receiving sockets or passageways, and in this connection it is to be noted that the metal stock of the culvert itself is utilized for this purpose, and without the use of metal strips or bars welded or riveted to the culvert as set forth in Patent No. 1,049,816, granted to me January 7, 1913.

Further objects and advantages will appear in the following description, it being understood that various changes in form, proportions and minor details of construction may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims.

I have illustrated my invention in the ac companying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly broken away, of a buttjoint culvert illustrating my improved fastening means, the same intending to illustrate a culvert of this type made up of complementary half sections;

Fig. 2 is a plan view, partly broken away, of a lower complementary half section, the same illustrating keys or clips engaglng within the passageways formed at the longitudinal edges of the section, the keys being shown in cross section;

Fig. 3 is a partial transverse sectional vlew of the culvert taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of the keys.

Referring to the drawing, it is to be noted that each section indicated at 1, of the buttjoint culvert is shown provided with corrugations which are arranged parallel with opposite ends thereof, and that when these sections, which are preferably half sections, are arranged in assembled position to form the completed culvert, the corrugations of upper and lower sections coincide with eachother, or in other words, each convex and concave corrugation of an upper section is directly in line with the convex and concave corrugations respectively of the section below it. It is to be noted that these sections are constructed without the usual outstanding flanges, and that the longitudinal edges of complementary sections are adapted to abut as indicated at 2 in the drawing, so that when said sections are connected together with their longitudinal edges meeting or abutting, the corrugated culvert, for all intents and purposes, has the appearance and strength of an integral corrugated cylinder.

In the type of culvert just referred to, key-receiving sockets or passageways 3 are formed at intervals along the longitudinal edges of the culvert sections, the key-receiving sockets along the longitudinal edge of one section cooperating with those along an adjacent longitudinal edge of a complementary section, so that a key such as indicated at 4, engaging within cooperating key-receiving sockets of adjacent longitudinal edges will serve when properly applied, to securely hold and retain said longitudinal edges in connected relation.

As has heretofore been referred to, it is the purpose of this invention to form the key-receiving sockets from the metal stock of the culvert itself, and this is done by forcing out by a spinning or other preferred operation, portions of said metal stock along the longitudinal edges of the culvert sections, thereby forming protuberances 5 which project in a direction longitudinally of the culvert. Two of these projections or protuberances are provided for each keyreceiving socket, the same projecting in opposite directions longitudinally of the culvert, or in other words, said projections extending toward each other. It will therefore be seen that the body of the culvert situated between each pair of projections 5, and the projections 5 themselves constitute a pocket or passageway for receiving the key 4. as above referred to.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, these projections 5 are formed by spinning the same from adjacent convex corrugations, so that said projecting portions extend over and partially close the concave corrugation which is situated between said adjacent convex corrugations, as clearly shown in the drawing.

In assembling the culvert sections with H their longitudinal edges abutting, the keys or clips are inser ed within cooperating sockets or passageways until the downwardly extending flange (5, formed upon the upper end of the key, engages the projections 5 upon the upper section, and as will be readily understood, the lower portion 7 of the key,- which, in this position, extends below the projections upon the lower section, may be bent up into engagement with said last mentioned projections, thus completing the joint.

While this invention has been shown and particularly described in connection with a corrugated culvert, it is to be understood that said invention is not limited thereto, as it will be perfectly obvious that these keyreceiving sockets or passageways may be formed upon smooth or llat surfaced culverts.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. Fastening means for connecting together the longitudinal edges of butt-joint culverts, comprising a projecting portion or bulging protuberance spun from the side of said culvert and projecting in a direction longitudinally of the culvert, and a key cooperating with said projecting portion.

Fastening means for butt-joint culverts, coniprising pairs of projecting por tions formed from the metal stock of said culvert along a longitudinal edge thereof, and arranged to project toward each other to form a key receiving socket, and a key cooperating with said projecting portions.

8. Fastening means for connecting to gether the longitudinal edges of butt-joint culverts, comprising cooperating key-receivtransverse to the culvert during the inser tion of the same within cooperating passageways.

i. Fastening means for butt-joint corrugated culverts, comprising cooperating keyreceiving sockets or passageways, said passageways formed by spinning from adj acent convex corrugations projecting portions which extend over and partially close a concave corrugation, and a key engaging within said cooperating passageways.

Fastening means for butt-joint culverts, comprising projecting portions or protuberances spun from the culvert stock itself, said protuberances adapted to extend toward each other and in a direction longitudinally of the culvert, and a locking key cooperating with said protuberances.

G. A culvert having abutting longitudinal edges adapted to be connected together, and key-receiving sockets or passageways formed from the metal stock of said culvert and arranged along each longitudinal edge, the nissageways of abutting longitudinal edges cooperating one with the other, and forming continuous passageways for receiving locking keys.

7. A corrugated metal culvert having projecting portions extending in opposite directions from adjacent convex corrugations, said projections together with the concave corrugation situated between said convex corrugations, forming a key-receiving socke or passage ay.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN H. DEAN.

Witnesses I. B. JOHNSON, lvlanY G. HAWK Ns.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of ?atents, Washington, D. G. 

